The present invention relates to golf clubs and, more particularly, to a golf club head that has internal components that allow adjustment of the weight and position of the center of gravity within the club head.
There are many different types of golf clubs on the market today available to recreational and professional golfers alike. These clubs include irons, woods, and specialty clubs, such as putters, wedges, and trouble/difficult lie clubs. From the hundreds of choices, golfers face a sometimes overwhelming task when deciding what clubs best suit their game. Golf clubs are generally selected based on a number of criteria, such as shaft length, loft, lie angle, head size, head construction, and swing weight. All of these different clubs are available because of the infinite number of shots that golfers encounter, each and every one of which are played with varying swing types. Because recreational golfers exhibit so many different swings, a club that one golfer hits well, another hits poorly. One type of club, however, that most recreational golfers, and even some professionals, have trouble hitting, are the long irons, such as a 2-iron or a 3-iron. This is because the club face of a 2-iron or a 3-iron is constructed with a low degree of loft. Woods are generally considered to be easier to hit than are irons of the same loft. Woods, however, do not typically afford recreational golfers the same control that irons do.
Although there have been many efforts by manufacturers to make long irons easier to hit or to give wood-type clubs the control afforded by irons, the results of these efforts have, for the most part, been unsuccessful.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,705 discloses a method of manufacturing a golf club head having a hollow section, a sole face, and a sole closure. The hollow section of the club head may contain a balance weight mounted to the rear side of the sole closure. No preferred materials for the balance weight are disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,811 discloses a wood type golf club head comprising a head body consisting mainly of a synthetic resin, and a metallic sole plate bonded to the lower surface of the head body. The sole plate has on its surface various members formed integrally therewith which include a hosel on the heel side, weights on the toe side and rear side, and a beam connecting the weights and the hosel. Auxiliary weights, such as brass, tungsten, lead, and zinc, may be added to more specifically position the specific gravity. The auxiliary weights are either buried within the standard weights or are fitted over projections in the surface of the standard weights in a lock-and-key fashion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,735 discloses a golf club head including a hollow head body having a bottom opening and a sole member, both of which are made of titanium or an alloy thereof. An upwardly-opened weight-fitting concave portion is formed on an inner surface of the sole member and a protrusion is formed on the inner surface of the concave portion. A metallic weight is forcibly fitted into the concave portion and the protrusion of the concave portion is forcibly inserted in the bottom surface of the weight so that the weight is fixed in the concave portion. The weight material is preferably lower in hardness and larger in specific gravity than titanium, such as brass or lead.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,019 discloses a metallic hollow golf club head comprising a sole plate and a weight of a heavy metal. The sole plate is formed from a light metal and contains a fitting hole. The weight is press-fitted into the fitting hole and extends into the cavity.
It is the intention of the present invention, therefore, to develop a golf club that bridges the gap between irons and woods. The concept of constructing an iron-type golf club that hits like a wood-type club is a novel effort in which the cavity of a wood is coupled with an iron, allowing novel variations to swing weight, weight position (heel or toe weighting), and center of gravity to be adjusted to a particular golfers swing.
The swing weight, in particular, is a club property that takes into consideration the weight of all of the club""s components including the head, the shaft, and the grip. Many golfers would prefer to have the swing weight of their clubs match to their individual needs, a feat generally accomplished by custom-making clubs for the golfer. Since custom clubs are expensive, many golfers cannot afford to have the swing weight of their clubs properly matched to their game and swing. As stated above, because club manufacturers must limit the number of clubs that they design and produce, the number of clubs having different swing weights are obviously limited. It is therefore desirable to both golfers and manufacturers to have clubs available in which the swing weight is adjustable after the club is formed. It is the object of the present invention to develop a club head that bridges the gap between irons and woods and further allows customization of the swing weight of the club head in small increments.
The present invention is directed to a golf club head, wherein the head comprises a front striking face, a back plate, a toe wall, a heel wall, and a sole plate, configured to form an interior cavity; a hosel and a bore for receiving a shaft; at least one chamber formed inside the interior cavity by a plurality of wall members and one of the front striking face, back plate, toe wall, heel wall, and sole plate; a weight member disposed within the chamber; and a filler material juxtaposed the weight member and the wall members forming the cavity such that the weight member is isolated from at least one of the wall members and is securely held within the chamber.
In one embodiment, the chamber is attached to the sole plate. Preferably, the chamber is further attached to at least one of the front striking face, back plate, toe wall, or heel wall. In another embodiment, the weight member is of unitary construction. In a preferred embodiment, the weight member has a horizontal cross-section that is substantially rectangular and a vertical cross-section that is substantially square. In another embodiment, the weight member has an inhomogeneous longitudinal thickness. Preferably, the weight member has a mass of between about 55 grams and about 110 grams.
In still another embodiment, the club head has a first mass and the weight member has a second mass that is between about 25% and 50% of the first mass. The weight member can be symmetrically disposed within the chamber or, alternatively, the weight member can be isolated from the all of the wall members by a plurality of supports. Preferably, the weight member comprises tungsten, copper, molybdenum, lead, alloys thereof, and mixtures thereof. In another embodiment, the weight member comprises a plurality of weight member parts. In yet another embodiment, the weight member parts each have different densities.
In one embodiment, the sole plate has at least one aperture for receiving a plug. In another embodiment, the aperture is threaded. In still another embodiment, the chamber has a first volume and the weight member has a second volume that is greater than about 50% of the first volume. Preferably, the second volume is greater than about 80% of the first volume.
In another embodiment, the filler material is selected from the group consisting of adhesive, glue, caulking material, thermosetting or thermoplastic resins, epoxy, and mixtures thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the filler material is epoxy.
The present invention is also directed to a metal-wood club head, wherein the head comprises a front striking face, a back plate, a toe wall, a heel wall, a sole plate, a crown, and an arcuate skirt, configured to form an interior cavity; hosel and a bore for receiving a shaft; at least one chamber formed inside the interior cavity by a plurality of wall members and one of the front striking face, back plate, toe wall, heel wall, sole plate, crown, and arcuate skirt; a weight member disposed within the chamber; and a filler material juxtaposed the weight member and the wall members forming the cavity such that the weight member is isolated from at least one of the wall members and is securely held within the chamber.